HELP! I FORGOT EVERYTHING!

[Imsofly]

Long story short I am scheduled to take MCAT in January and I feel like I forgot everything. The last time I took a science was a year ago and I definitely want to re-learn everything. Do I read books from a course? Do I read the textbook I bought from college?

Which course books should I read to regain knowledge on everything? I hear I should be reading examkrackers and read every page of it. I've heard great things about them. What do you guys say? I have a little less than 4 months till I take the test. Thank you for your time guys.

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[SkipJunior]

I suggest you start by watching some MCAT prep videos on youtube. More fun and interesting than reading hundreds of pages from a textbook. You can also watch Khan Academy videos. Just type MCAT prep or MCAT Physics etc. on youtube and enjoy. However watch videos only for the next 3-7 days. Then start reading examkrackers and start doing practice questions and flashcards. It's okay if you don't know the answer to all the questions but you you need to get used to MCAT style passage based questions. I hear the Berkeley Review books are especially good for MCAT prep.

Do content review for the next month or month and a half maximum, then start doing practice exams every week. The best practice exams are the official AAMC tests. However you can also do Kaplan, Gold Standard, Princeton Review etc. practice tests. Go over all the questions after you take a test and understand why you got questions wrong. Understand the MCAT test taking strategies and make sure you practice good timing while taking practice tests. The MCAT is very fast paced and it's hell for slow test takers.

 

[Afford]

Don't read your textbook. I heard the SN2ed is a good way to prepare for the MCAT. I didn't follow it, but I've heard good things.

 

[moisne]

Get MCAT prep books. You will never make it through the textbooks

 

[Imsofly]

I definitely won't make it through the textbooks. But which prep books should I be using? I have princeotn and examkrackers. I also have audio osmosis. Which one is the best?

 

[Aerus]

I definitely won't make it through the textbooks. But which prep books should I be using? I have princeotn and examkrackers. I also have audio osmosis. Which one is the best?

Princeton Review for more in-depth review. EK if you're strong on content and just need a quick review.

 

[GFP]

I personally recommend: TBR (The Berkeley Review) for Physics and Chemistry, TPR (Princeton Review) for Biology and Organic Chemistry, and TPR Hyperlearning and/or EK101 for Verbal. If you need extra help w/ orgo, try TBR.

 

[Imsofly]

what do you guys think about Audio Osmosis? If I start studying now do you guys think I can do well on January 15th?

 

[GFP]

If you commute a lot, then it wouldn't hurt to use Audio Osmosis. I bought it but never used it.

What is your definition of "well"?

 

[cactus8910]

First take a full practice exam to get your baseline score, to get a feel for the exam, and to figure out where you need to most focus your studying.
I would start with examkrackers, and then if you're struggling with a concept go to other sources (I liked the coursesaver videos). The method that worked best for me was to read a section in examkrackers and then do a bunch of practice questions, so that you're not just doing straight content review.
Whether you can be ready by January depends on how much time you can devote each day. Are you a full time student or working full time? If so, being ready by January is going to be tough. Try to study at least 90 minutes every day and do longer sessions on the weekends.
Luckily it's a lot easier to learn something the second time.

 

[Aerus]

Whatever you do, do NOT panic and use an AAMC full length to gauge your ability before you're ready. Use another company's test. AAMC material is best used when you're more ready content wise.


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[cactus8910]

Whatever you do, do NOT panic and use an AAMC full length to gauge your ability before you're ready. Use another company's test. AAMC material is best used when you're more ready content wise.

I disagree. I would use the free practice test from AAMC so you have a good baseline to compare with future scores. It's not a reason to panic as long as you go into the test expecting to get a low score that you can improve.

 

[Aerus]

I disagree. I would use the free practice test from AAMC so you have a good baseline to compare with future scores. It's not a reason to panic as long as you go into the test expecting to get a low score that you can improve.

What can taking a full length AAMC early on in your content review do? Congrats, you were right in thinking that you suck!

The full lengths are MUCH more useful in their predictive power and establishing a baseline for what score to expect come the real MCAT. And you certainly aren't going to take the MCAT before doing some review.

Whether you get a 16 or a 24 on it before 3-6 months of content review doesn't matter as much since it's still A LOT to improve on. There's very little benefit, if at all, from wasting a valuable full length when you know you're nowhere near where you'd like to be.


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[cactus8910]

What can taking a full length AAMC early on in your content review do? Congrats, you were right in thinking that you suck!

The full lengths are MUCH more useful in their predictive power and establishing a baseline for what score to expect come the real MCAT. And you certainly aren't going to take the MCAT before doing some review.

Whether you get a 16 or a 24 on it before 3-6 months of content review doesn't matter as much since it's still A LOT to improve on. There's very little benefit, if at all, from wasting a valuable full length when you know you're nowhere near where you'd like to be.

How is a practice test from another company going to be so different? I took a Kaplan one that was still a full-length test and gave a predicted score, but it wasn't as good a representation of MCAT questions as an actual AAMC practice test.

 

[nOchemallday]

What can taking a full length AAMC early on in your content review do? Congrats, you were right in thinking that you suck!

The full lengths are MUCH more useful in their predictive power and establishing a baseline for what score to expect come the real MCAT. And you certainly aren't going to take the MCAT before doing some review.

Whether you get a 16 or a 24 on it before 3-6 months of content review doesn't matter as much since it's still A LOT to improve on. There's very little benefit, if at all, from wasting a valuable full length when you know you're nowhere near where you'd like to be.


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Agree entirely. I think taking a practice test by another company is good to get a feel for the style of the test (features, section order and breakdown, general idea of pace for when you start content review), but who cares what the test predicts before you've started studying. If you do well does it mean you plan on studying less? That seems silly. Don't waste an AAMC on predicting absolutely useless information.

 

[Aerus]

How is a practice test from another company going to be so different? I took a Kaplan one that was still a full-length test and gave a predicted score, but it wasn't as good a representation of MCAT questions as an actual AAMC practice test.

The score itself doesn't matter. You want to see what the full test is like, so you know how to best prepare for it. The number you get at the end means absolutely nothing. It tells you nothing that you need to know at this point nor does it help you aid your studying. That's why taking another company's test that still mirrors the format of the real thing is much better. You WANT to save ones that accurately predict your performance for LATER when you can actually meaningfully use that number.

Sure you can get a 3/7/5 on AAMC 3 and be like "Oh, I don't need to focus as much on Biological Sciences section because I'm better at that. Just Physical Sciences section". WRONG. You stink at both and probably only got 2 points higher on it because you ran into topics you were slightly more familiar with. Try your hardest on both and study on both as if you got a 1 on each.

So in the end, the score will have nothing to do with my study habits and I only ended up wasting a valuable AAMC full length just to gauge at how incompetent at the exam I really am prior to content review. The score at the end really only matters after you've done all your content review and are more ready with learning the intricacies of the exam. You have the knowledge and are ready to learn how to apply it to get a high score.

 

[nOchemallday]

How is a practice test from another company going to be so different? I took a Kaplan one that was still a full-length test and gave a predicted score, but it wasn't as good a representation of MCAT questions as an actual AAMC practice test.

As you pointed out, AAMC questions are high yield. That means they will be most like the actual exam. You hurt yourself by taking the exam before you're prepared because you don't have a solid review of content under your belt to understand the fundamentals of a question. Sure you can figure out the test-maker's reasoning, but that doesn't help if you don't understand all the components of the question to begin with. Thus you sacrifice the high yield questions/review which are paramount to score gains (Personally, I saw the most gains after thoroughly reviewing AAMC tests), but this requires you to have all of your content review prior to understanding the test reasoning. You also sacrifice the predictive power of AAMC3 later in the process.

 

[cactus8910]

Ultimately, your baseline practice test is not the most important part of your preparation. I can see people have different opinions about what test you should start with. If you're going to take all 8 AAMC practice tests in the end, then sure, save them for after you've reviewed. If not, I don't see why you wouldn't stick with the most accurate representation of the exam when you're trying to get a feel for it.

In any case, pick whatever exam you want, take it, start reviewing content, and then do practice questions and eventually more exams.

 

[Imsofly]

Thank you for all the responses guys! I will wait to take a practice exam because I am sure I'm going to bomb it. THere is no point in me taking it. But I will definitely start reading the examkrackers books and listening to the audio osmosis.

 

[nOchemallday]

Thank you for all the responses guys! I will wait to take a practice exam because I am sure I'm going to bomb it. THere is no point in me taking it. But I will definitely start reading the examkrackers books and listening to the audio osmosis.

In response to your OP, if you have the time available during the day (At least 4 hours, but more like 6hrs/day) I would highly recommend the SN2ed method - available in the MCAT section in the forums. January MCATs should still be the "old" version of the test and this method has proven well for many people, myself included. If you are rusty on material, the added audio osmosis to that schedule may help, otherwise you may need to utilize additional sources like the AAMC Self-Assessments and/or 2 different sources of content review (as different people learn differently). Good luck!

 

[Imsofly]

I will definitely look at SN2ed method! Thats something I'm going to have to follow very strictly right? As in I have to follow what it says by the day right?and if I fall behind on a day I will probably fall behind the whole thing?

 

[Aerus]

I will definitely look at SN2ed method! Thats something I'm going to have to follow very strictly right? As in I have to follow what it says by the day right?and if I fall behind on a day I will probably fall behind the whole thing?

You can be as strict or as flexible as you'd like. I followed it mostly on the one chapter a day from TBR. I drastically changed other parts. It's up to you. Make SURE you do practice passages each day. Reading and Audio Osmosis only is NOT enough. I cannot stress this enough. Good luck!

 

[Tappinfool66]

Like some people have already said, relax and don't panic. A cool head and confidence can go a long way in helping you do well. I started studying around this time last year for the January MCAT (maybe a little later) and I was in a similar situation - I had finished physics about 4 months prior but it had been over 2 years since I had finished orgo and over 3-4 since I'd taken Gen Chem and Bio. I was able to relearn the material in those four months and get a score I'm very proud of and happy with, though.

I used EK and, for the most part, I thought they were pretty good. Like people have said it, their books aren't very in depth and if you're weak in a certain area you'll need to figure out what other books to add that will help you most. I supplemented my EK studying with some TBR for content I was less comfortable with (and for extra practice problems - they have a lot!). I also used the website mcat-prep.org, which basically goes through the AAMC content outlines and addresses each topic.

The most beneficial thing you can do, though, is to take as many full length practice exams as possible. And you should, with no exceptions, try to do ALL of the AAMC practice exams since they're actual old exams. They are most representative of the real thing (at least in my opinion, and in the opinion of many other people) and the average score you get on them is supposed to be indicative of what score you can expect on the real thing. You need to learn and understand the content, there's no doubt about that. But beyond that, you need to have practice applying that content knowledge to questions like those you'll encounter on the MCAT. I think the reason a lot of people study for the exam and don't do well is that they haven't practiced sufficiently. I did 15 practice tests in total (7 Kaplan and 8 AAMC) and I also did the AAMC self assessments, which have questions from old exams too.

Hope this helps and best of luck, OP!

 

[Imsofly]

Like some people have already said, relax and don't panic. A cool head and confidence can go a long way in helping you do well. I started studying around this time last year for the January MCAT (maybe a little later) and I was in a similar situation - I had finished physics about 4 months prior but it had been over 2 years since I had finished orgo and over 3-4 since I'd taken Gen Chem and Bio. I was able to relearn the material in those four months and get a score I'm very proud of and happy with, though.

I used EK and, for the most part, I thought they were pretty good. Like people have said it, their books aren't very in depth and if you're weak in a certain area you'll need to figure out what other books to add that will help you most. I supplemented my EK studying with some TBR for content I was less comfortable with (and for extra practice problems - they have a lot!). I also used the website mcat-prep.org, which basically goes through the AAMC content outlines and addresses each topic.

The most beneficial thing you can do, though, is to take as many full length practice exams as possible. And you should, with no exceptions, try to do ALL of the AAMC practice exams since they're actual old exams. They are most representative of the real thing (at least in my opinion, and in the opinion of many other people) and the average score you get on them is supposed to be indicative of what score you can expect on the real thing. You need to learn and understand the content, there's no doubt about that. But beyond that, you need to have practice applying that content knowledge to questions like those you'll encounter on the MCAT. I think the reason a lot of people study for the exam and don't do well is that they haven't practiced sufficiently. I did 15 practice tests in total (7 Kaplan and 8 AAMC) and I also did the AAMC self assessments, which have questions from old exams too.

Hope this helps and best of luck, OP!

thank you so much! I will definitely read through the EK books and I'll definitely hit up the SN2ed method asap. Where can I get more practice tests though?

 

[Tappinfool66]

thank you so much! I will definitely read through the EK books and I'll definitely hit up the SN2ed method asap. Where can I get more practice tests though?

For the AAMC tests, you can buy them from the AAMC website. I think they're like $35 each. If you know someone taking a Kaplan course, though, they have access to all the AAMC tests as well as all of the Kaplan ones and they might be persuaded to let you use their account I think PR and TBR also have practice exams for sale, but I haven't used them so I can't comment on how good they are.

 

[pink/\floyd]

TBR!! Those are like mini chapters and soooo good!

 

[Imsofly]

TBR!! Those are like mini chapters and soooo good!

TBR is the berkley review right? I haven't heard many good things about that though.

 

[Aerus]

TBR is the berkley review right? I haven't heard many good things about that though.

Probably because the people who told you about it were only aiming for like a 30 and found TBR to be too much. If you are aiming for the highest score possible, TBR is an excellent source of prep material. They go in depth in all the concepts and provide high quality passages that will challenge you to think about the concepts in new ways that won't appear on the practice AAMCs. Just ignore TBR Bio. That's the runt of the litter.

 

[pink/\floyd]

TBR is the berkley review right? I haven't heard many good things about that though.

THIS:

Probably because the people who told you about it were only aiming for like a 30 and found TBR to be too much. If you are aiming for the highest score possible, TBR is an excellent source of prep material. They go in depth in all the concepts and provide high quality passages that will challenge you to think about the concepts in new ways that won't appear on the practice AAMCs. Just ignore TBR Bio. That's the runt of the litter.

 

[zzxxzz]

MCAT instructor/tutor for one of the big companies here.

Long story short I am scheduled to take MCAT in January and I feel like I forgot everything. The last time I took a science was a year ago and I definitely want to re-learn everything. Do I read books from a course? Do I read the textbook I bought from college?

Many students feel that way - I did myself. However, do not try to re-read your college textbooks. You'll get nowhere, and the material doesn't actually match what you'll see on the MCAT.

Which course books should I read to regain knowledge on everything? I hear I should be reading examkrackers and read every page of it. I've heard great things about them. What do you guys say? I have a little less than 4 months till I take the test. Thank you for your time guys.

Examkrackers = very general review. Very popular because it's so short, but if you feel like you "forgot everything," you might want an additional source.
TPR and Kaplan = middle-of-the-road detail wise. I'd say TPR is more detailed. Some people will benefit hugely from the "Kaplan method," some won't.
TBR = the motherlode of information, including some stuff that is not on the MCAT. It's very dense and detailed, but I will say that I personally chose to focus on this source in my own preparation, and it paid off. I found their questions to be most similar to the MCAT.

what do you guys think about Audio Osmosis? If I start studying now do you guys think I can do well on January 15th?

Meh. If you spend a TON of time in the car, maybe. I know people who used this and said it was a waste.

What can taking a full length AAMC early on in your content review do? Congrats, you were right in thinking that you suck!

We have all students take a FL of some sort (ideally AAMC) before they start studying. It's great for 3 reasons:
1) Potentially brutal wake-up call for students who think they're going to cruise to a 30 and then score a 22 on the diagnostic. Many, many students underestimate the test; if you don't, it's actually not that scary.
2) Practice with real MCAT questions can help students tailor their study patterns. They may realize that route memorization won't help them as much as it would in a college class.
3) It's a great way to underline initial strengths and weaknesses. Students are often terrible judges of what sections they are good and bad at.

TBR is the berkley review right? I haven't heard many good things about that though.

If you have reason to believe you can score a 33+ and/or you have a ton of time, TBR is an excellent resource.

If you are an average, or even slightly above average premed student, TBR might be overwhelming. People complain because it's so long and hard...news flash, you should WANT hard questions.

 

[Aerus]

We have all students take a FL of some sort (ideally AAMC) before they start studying. It's great for 3 reasons:
1) Potentially brutal wake-up call for students who think they're going to cruise to a 30 and then score a 22 on the diagnostic. Many, many students underestimate the test; if you don't, it's actually not that scary.
2) Practice with real MCAT questions can help students tailor their study patterns. They may realize that route memorization won't help them as much as it would in a college class.
3) It's a great way to underline initial strengths and weaknesses. Students are often terrible judges of what sections they are good and bad at.

If you had read what I said above, I had already addressed these points.

1) This can be easily accomplished with any of the hundreds of practice tests designed by other companies. Some are made even harder so that you score below 20. THAT would definitely be a wake up call.

2) As said above, there are many full lengths that mimic the format of the real one. No need to use a real one.

3) There are content diagnostic tests out there if you want that. Using actual passages as a diagnostic leaves a mixed message. Some passages may be easier to interpret than others. It says nothing about your actual content weaknesses. Even then, that's a terrible reason to use a full-length. If you dedicate enough time to study, there's no reason why you'd need to know your weaknesses, since you should ideally mastery everything from the beginning by assuming you know nothing.

I'm sure different people have different strategies to approach the test, but I see no BENEFIT in using an AAMC full-length. Only cons. All the reasons that have been presented to me, including yours, are NOT good enough reasons to waste one on a "pre-study diagnostic" since such a thing is not only useless but can be accomplished by other full-lengths.

 

[Imsofly]

MCAT instructor/tutor for one of the big companies here.



Many students feel that way - I did myself. However, do not try to re-read your college textbooks. You'll get nowhere, and the material doesn't actually match what you'll see on the MCAT.



Examkrackers = very general review. Very popular because it's so short, but if you feel like you "forgot everything," you might want an additional source.
TPR and Kaplan = middle-of-the-road detail wise. I'd say TPR is more detailed. Some people will benefit hugely from the "Kaplan method," some won't.
TBR = the motherlode of information, including some stuff that is not on the MCAT. It's very dense and detailed, but I will say that I personally chose to focus on this source in my own preparation, and it paid off. I found their questions to be most similar to the MCAT.



Meh. If you spend a TON of time in the car, maybe. I know people who used this and said it was a waste.



We have all students take a FL of some sort (ideally AAMC) before they start studying. It's great for 3 reasons:
1) Potentially brutal wake-up call for students who think they're going to cruise to a 30 and then score a 22 on the diagnostic. Many, many students underestimate the test; if you don't, it's actually not that scary.
2) Practice with real MCAT questions can help students tailor their study patterns. They may realize that route memorization won't help them as much as it would in a college class.
3) It's a great way to underline initial strengths and weaknesses. Students are often terrible judges of what sections they are good and bad at.



If you have reason to believe you can score a 33+ and/or you have a ton of time, TBR is an excellent resource.

If you are an average, or even slightly above average premed student, TBR might be overwhelming. People complain because it's so long and hard...news flash, you should WANT hard questions.

wow thank you for your response! it helped greatly. I have until January 15th. what would you recommend? Im leaning towards reading the Examkrackers books and seeing where that takes me.
BTW guys while I read these books, should I take notes as well? or just read through them and study like that? I find that when I go to take notes, I end up writing a whole bunch of stuff

 

[Imsofly]

wow thank you for your response! it helped greatly. I have until January 15th. what would you recommend? Im leaning towards reading the Examkrackers books and seeing where that takes me.
BTW guys while I read these books, should I take notes as well? or just read through them and study like that? I find that when I go to take notes, I end up writing a whole bunch of stuff

btw I have all TPR books as well as EK and BR books. Whats the breakdown? I def don't have time to go through all those books. Which books should I use for which sections?

 

[Aerus]

Use TBR books. Read them and do practice problems in either EK 1001 or TPRHL Science Workbook. Don't take notes unless it really helps you and you have extra time to kill. It's much more helpful to test your knowledge directly by doing problems.

 

[Imsofly]

would any of you guys happen to know the best way to learn through videos? I'm more of a visual learner so I'd love to find websites or anything that gives MCAT problem and solution videos or anything related. Any suggestions?

 

[Aerus]

would any of you guys happen to know the best way to learn through videos? I'm more of a visual learner so I'd love to find websites or anything that gives MCAT problem and solution videos or anything related. Any suggestions?

Biology: CrashCourse and Chad's Videos
Chemistry: Khan Academy
Physics: Khan Academy/Brightstorm
Organic Chemistry: Khan Academy

Do NOT rely solely on videos. Practice problems practice problems.

 

[zzxxzz]

BTW guys while I read these books, should I take notes as well? or just read through them and study like that? I find that when I go to take notes, I end up writing a whole bunch of stuff

I would take notes on things you aren't 100% on. Even if you don't have time to heavily review them, plenty of studies show writing material down improves retention.

btw I have all TPR books as well as EK and BR books. Whats the breakdown? I def don't have time to go through all those books. Which books should I use for which sections?

Starting with EK to warm up, followed up by TBR for heavier practice, and finishing with a number of AAMC FLs is the general recommendation.

It should only take you a few days to get through all of EK. It's that basic.

would any of you guys happen to know the best way to learn through videos? I'm more of a visual learner so I'd love to find websites or anything that gives MCAT problem and solution videos or anything related. Any suggestions?

I've heard people swear by Chad's videos. I watched one on a friend's account, it was ok.